Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity Salary by State (2026)

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity earn the most in New York at $84,480 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $32,230 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $59,050. All 52 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$84,480

New York

National median
$59,050

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$32,230

Puerto Rico

States reporting
52

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

  1. 1. New York$84,480 median · $78,279 adjusted · 16,770 employed
  2. 2. Washington$72,280 median · $67,543 adjusted · 6,960 employed
  3. 3. Hawaii$68,500 median · $62,300 adjusted · 2,190 employed
  4. 4. California$67,130 median · $60,630 adjusted · 24,380 employed
  5. 5. Oregon$65,510 median · $63,380 adjusted · 2,620 employed

Lowest-paying states for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

  1. 52. Puerto Rico$32,230 median · no price parity · 510 employed
  2. 51. Arkansas$37,520 median · $43,158 adjusted · 570 employed
  3. 50. Alabama$37,700 median · $42,444 adjusted · 960 employed
  4. 49. Mississippi$38,570 median · $44,357 adjusted · 400 employed
  5. 48. West Virginia$39,260 median · $43,867 adjusted · 520 employed

Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of bus drivers, transit and intercity OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1New York$84,480$64,590$84,70016,770$78,279
2Washington$72,280$61,770$93,1806,960$67,543
3Hawaii$68,500$57,190$68,5002,190$62,300
4California$67,130$55,540$76,92024,380$60,630
5Oregon$65,510$57,600$80,1702,620$63,380
6Massachusetts$65,460$58,650$93,5003,970$61,897
7Maryland$65,220$54,780$81,4804,890$62,139
8Illinois$65,200$57,430$85,9908,650$65,227
9Alaska$64,150$63,450$67,050250$62,672
10Colorado$63,010$55,610$66,8403,540$61,144
11Ohio$62,760$47,840$70,0004,000$67,648
12Nevada$61,700$44,720$90,5302,540$61,713
13New Jersey$61,140$53,020$70,7006,420$56,192
14Missouri$60,660$46,870$61,1401,860$66,794
15Delaware$60,510$45,640$65,710380$60,626
16Connecticut$60,100$49,120$75,0401,830$58,006
17Indiana$58,410$47,700$61,4802,130$62,585
18Maine$57,870$47,670$63,360470$59,629
19District of Columbia$55,580$55,580$57,650150$50,573
20New Hampshire$54,830$47,860$64,780300$52,638
21Kentucky$54,550$38,310$61,1002,570$60,504
22Arizona$53,870$45,620$59,2303,240$53,508
23Vermont$53,830$47,310$62,630440$54,952
24Virginia$52,940$46,330$62,4003,800$52,362
25Wisconsin$52,660$46,310$61,3602,220$55,965
26Pennsylvania$51,360$43,520$63,6704,710$52,638
27Utah$50,730$46,730$58,6201,230$51,313
28Oklahoma$50,300$44,760$57,7101,760$57,261
29Minnesota$50,200$46,010$58,4602,610$50,902
30Idaho$49,000$44,500$55,440520$51,312
31North Dakota$48,890$47,320$53,950250$54,958
32Louisiana$48,860$37,090$63,4401,490$55,392
33Texas$48,740$42,610$56,12011,600$50,218
34Rhode Island$48,610$45,810$57,98070$47,526
35Florida$48,300$44,060$61,3509,130$46,705
36Tennessee$47,770$45,480$58,9001,970$51,997
37Michigan$47,660$40,600$52,3103,620$49,534
38Iowa$45,890$36,720$54,4501,560$52,289
39Montana$45,640$39,480$55,870450$48,222
40Wyoming$45,630$44,600$62,710130$49,228
41New Mexico$45,610$38,420$46,510580$49,462
42Georgia$45,500$42,100$57,9403,700$47,252
43Nebraska$45,120$39,470$52,950460$50,076
44North Carolina$44,060$39,960$46,8402,900$46,710
45South Carolina$43,330$37,230$47,060630$46,219
46South Dakota$41,590$37,960$46,170410$46,949
47Kansas$41,340$36,110$49,970430$45,899
48West Virginia$39,260$37,960$46,560520$43,867
49Mississippi$38,570$35,790$43,980400$44,357
50Alabama$37,700$35,990$45,950960$42,444
51Arkansas$37,520$34,230$43,090570$43,158
52Puerto Rico$32,230$24,970$32,230510N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity, that changes the ranking: New York leads on raw pay at $84,480, while New York leads once prices are taken into account at $78,279.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity the most?

New York reports the highest median wage for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity at $84,480 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($72,280) and Hawaii ($68,500).

Which state pays Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity at $32,230 a year, $52,250 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts New York first at $78,279 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $84,480. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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